Make or Break
by Twilights Herald
Summary: The school idol craze is sweeping the country, and carrying along a certain couple of redheads with it. But when the kids of Nerima notice a fad, they tend to get carried away! Now the Wrecking Crew are set to turn the movement on its' head, but if there's anything they have to learn, it's that Kousaka Honoka doesn't lose - and she's got the best teacher out there in not losing!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I admit I've been trying to avoid putting these in my fics themselves, but in this case I've come to the conclusion that it's necessary. For those of you coming here from the (Surprisingly active) Ranma community who may not have been following anime for awhile, Love Live! has a surprisingly robust discography. Ranma 1/2's is a bit less comprehensive, but it's there. So, since I'm a terrible poet I'll be 'borrowing' some of the lyrics where it makes sense. Songs being sung from/performed will be listed at the start of each chapter. Per site rules, no challenge to any copyright is intended or implied._

_A-RISE - 'Private Wars' first released on 'Notes of School Idol Days' soundtrack._

_Ranma - 'Kagayaku Sora to Kimi no Koe' from DoCo Second._

* * *

><p>Spring in Nerima. The cherry blossoms may have fallen weeks before, but it would still be months before the heat and rains of summer would arrive. Unlike much of the rest of Tokyo, Nerima had managed to escape much of the transformations of the last twenty years. Most of the houses were still tiled-roofed, almost none over three stories. It was a good mix of traditional Japanese architecture with the sprawl of the 70s, none of which had yet to be bought up and converted into either high-end housing or apartments to accommodate the masses of people still living in the city. In short, a seeming island of suburbia right in the heart of one of the biggest metropolises on Earth.<p>

But how could such a thing be? To get a partial answer to this, one would go to the Tendo Dojo. One of the largest of the traditional buildings in the district, it featured, not just the dojo itself, but a two-story house and even a small zen garden with koi pond. To a casual observer, one passing through, it might have seemed like the very picture of traditional living and tranquility.

There are people who look at the Apollo missions and conclude the moon landings were faked, too.

It takes a still-closer look to begin to understand how Nerima has survived the times so unchanged. For that, we must look to the living room, with its' low table, and cushions for seating to the sides and a small couch opposite a wide-screen television on a media stand. And on the couch, there was a girl. With her short hair cut neatly to frame her face, bangs trailing slightly over her eyes, and a fairly conservative pink dress over a plain white blouse, she could have been almost any Japanese girl in the country. However, her figure was beyond fit and trim and had a bit of muscle definition. At that exact moment, it was the only thing that betrayed there was anything unusual about her or this place.

This was Akane Tendo.

Currently she was watching a show with three girls in white, frilly mini-dresses dancing on a lit stage. The lead dancer had short honey-blonde hair, flanked by a slightly taller one with a longer, fuller style of chestnut brown, and an even taller girl with dark purple hair and green eyes. Their movements were fluid, and their singing voices clear as bells. Akane sat, nearly entranced by the scene in front of her.

She sighed with a mixture of envy and longing, only to hear a curious 'hmph' from behind her, Akane spun half around on the couch, only to see the boy of her dreams and nightmares behind her. About the only average thing about him was his height. His body was lithe and chiseled, evidence of long hours every day in martial arts practice. His messy hair was pulled back into a tight pigtail. His body language suggested that he was utterly at ease with his surroundings, but his slate-blue eyes held a certain tension, just beneath the surface, that was always ready to come out.

His mode of dress was unusual to say the least for the time and place. A traditional Chinese silk shirt, blood red, with long sleeves hung loosely over his shoulders, rolled up just enough to show off his arms. In similar fashion, he wore silken black pants and a sash around his waist, suggesting a study of Kung-Fu within the bounds of China itself. He wasn't much older than Akane.

This was Ranma Saotome.

"Don't know why yer watchin' that. Just some dolled up idol singers." Ranma commented.

Akane shook her head, speaking with a tone bordering on disgust with Ranma's apparent ignorance of the modern world. "Just shows what you know. Those are school idols. It's like a club, not that you'd know anything about those."

"Eh, thing like that's just boring, and it gets in the way." Ranma crossed his arms behind his head. "Besides, we did stuff like that last year. Wasn't too bad." He took a few moments to assess it. "Huh. A school put that on? Not too bad, I guess. We couldn't do more than sing karaoke, really."

Akane looked at Ranma. "What? I could too do that!"

The pig-tailed martial artist snorted. "Really? You? Just look at'em." Akane started her slow boil while Ranma prattled on, ignoring the warning signs. "Ya need grace, a sense of timin', charm...yer voice ain't bad, might do all right there. Oh, yeah, almost forgot. You'd need ta put in almost as much time as learnin' a new kata. Ain't somethin' you can just muscle yer way through like a gorilla."

"Oh, and you'd know _all_ about it Ranma?!" Akane stood up and spun around to shout at him.

Ranma shrugged. "Ain't got a clue. I can just see an uncute girl like you'd never have what it takes to do that well."

"Oh really...then why don't you go CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!?" Ranma threw up his arms to defend against Akane's uppercut, but it was far too late. The blow landed, and he found himself being propelled up, through the roof of the house, and towards the horizon.

Akane sniffed as Ranma's voice echoed back "Ya uncuuuute tooooombooooooyyyy…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the Kanda ward near the borders with Akihabara and Jinbouchou, the terrain of the rest of Tokyo had long since taken over. But there were still islands of green. One such was Otonokizaka high school - a traditional building, renovated many times over the years but maintaining the look of a high school all the time. What was unusual was the activity going on on the accessible rooftop. Three girls, practicing their dance.<p>

This wasn't the complicated displays of the aforementioned A-RISE. The comparatively simple choreography was challenging their skills as it was. It should have been simple. A bit of flair to catch the audience as they went into the chorus. The girl in the front of the trio seemed to be having difficulty, though.

Her auburn hair, a ribbon holding it up on one side, was matted to her head with sweat. She stood at about the same height as most of her classmates. She wore a cyan shirt with a kana symbol over her magenta tank top, paired with dark blue workout pants. There was a certain flagging of her movements telling of long exercise, but her bright blue eyes still had a spark of determination.

This was Kousaku Honoka.

And, unfortunately, she had just decked one of her two best friends for the third time that session.

Only barely noticeably taller than Honoka when not sprawled out on the ground, her light ash-blonde hair splayed out underneath her. Her face scrunched up in pain, amber-colored eyes just barely peeking out even as she had to cover her nose to keep a trickle of bloody from dripping onto her pastel yellow shirt or, worse, the much more expensive beige skirt she was wearing for her workout.

This was Minami Kotori.

Fortunately for her, this was not a common thing for her friends to be doing. That'll be important to note later.

"Owww! Honoka, whyyy?" Kotori's voice was a bit on the high-pitched side as she sat up. "Can't you look my direction first?"

"I'm sorry!" Honoka kneeled down to pick up the other girl. "But I'm supposed to keep looking at the audience!"

Kotori's hair fell in waves back into position as she retied her own green ribbon (for the second time this time.) "Maybe we should do something else there. I could lose some teeth!"

The third girl was about as much shorter than Honoka as Kotori was taller- not much. Her long black hair fell straight behind her. She seemed much less tired than the other two, physically anyway. Emotionally was another story, as her exasperation got the better of her and she brushed some imaginary dirt off her T-shirt. "Honoka, it's _up_. Not behind! You twist around at the waist and punch up into the air. And you're not moving enough before that, or you'd _still_ not be hitting Kotori on that step!"

This was Sonoda Umi.

"...aaaAAAAHHHHH!"

And the lives of these three girls was about to get a lot more complicated.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"

Umi was able to react to the sudden noise - a scream coming from above - in time, throwing her arms out to push her two friends away from where they had been standing, her legs coiling and springing with skills trained to the point of instinct through long sessions with her family school to carry her out of the way as a pig-tailed boy finished his descent from the sky, crashing into the roof.

When the dust-cloud cleared, the trio blinked. He should have been dead. No one could survive a drop like that, but all that had happened was the roof tiles had cracked and come loose under his landing.

Saotome rubbed some dirt out of his face as he addressed them directly. "I'm Saotome Ranma. Sorry 'bout this…"

Umi was the first to recover, posture straightening as she turned back around to shout. "You can't just fall from the sky HERE! This is a girl's school!"

The pig-tailed boy snapped back with "Well, what was I supposed to do! I got punted here from Nerima, ain't like I got _that_ much of a choice where I land!"

Umi wanted to continue her tirade, but she was stopped when a restraining hand landed on her shoulder. Kotori finally brought her back around. "I don't think it was his fault…"

Ranma scratched his hand behind his head. "Yeah, sorry, I thought the roof would be clear ta land on, and by the time I saw ya there it was kinda too late. Whatcha doin' on the roof this time'a day anyway?"

Honoka sighed. "There's nowhere else we CAN practice. We're…" she was about to explain, but Ranma interrupted.

"...oh, yeah, Akane was talkin' 'bout that before she sent me here," he looked them over. "School idols, right?"

Umi rolled her eyes. "That's the plan anyway."

Ranma turned and crossed his arms behind his head. "Well, good on ya. If you're not put off by havin' no place to practice, you'll do fine."

Kotori had a sudden flash of inspiration. "How do you know about school idols?"

"Eh...did a little bit last year over at Furinkan," The boy's explanation was nonchalant, as he intended to go back down the stairs and leave, but he was stopped by the one thing that could get under his skin.

Umi's sly, slightly sarcastic voice cut in. "I didn't think boys _could_ be school idols, and Furinkan doesn't have a group on the web site."

Ranma gulped, realizing he had no way out. "Eh...guess there's no choice. Mind if I borrow that water bottle? I'll pay ya back." Without waiting for anyone to object, he jogged over to where the girls had stashed their things in the shadow of the stairwell to keep them cool. He untwisted the top, and upended it over his own head.

All three girls gasped at the amazing transformation. Suddenly, his body seemed to _melt_ away, losing almost 30 centimeters in the space of a fraction of a second. Hard muscle seemed to be replaced with soft curves, barely visible under the now bulky Chinese clothing. The black color seemed to wash out of her hair like a cheap dye, leaving it a vibrant red. It all happened of a speed of 'blink and you'll miss it' but where before there had been a boy, there was now a busty, red-headed girl.

Honoka blinked.

Kotori blinked.

Umi blinked.

They all blinked again, for good measure. There was much blinking all around.

Through practice born of long suffering, the new girl launched into explanations. "It's a weird Chinese curse, yes I'm a guy, cold water changes me, hot water to turn back, if Pops made any promises to your families I don't wanna hear about it, take it up with the Panda, there ain't no mirrors."

The girls of Mu's blinked again.

Finally Honoka seemed to find her voice. "...so you turned into a girl to become a school idol?"

"THAT AIN'T IT!" Ranma took a deep breath to calm himself down. "This was an accident, and there ain't no cure I've found."

Honoka only needed a moment to consider this. "Well, I think it's cool. Hey, can you sing something for us!"

"Honoka!" Both of her friends shouted at her, with Umi following up. "That's rude!"

The pig-tailed girl seemed to actually consider the request for a moment. "Yeah, I guess…" She took in a deep breath, thinking back to the party Kasumi had held for half the district over Christmas. At the time she hadn't really wanted to be a girl in front of all those people, but. . . well, it couldn't hurt.

Then she dismissed the idea. "Wait, not that one." Another moment to consider.

"_Kagayaku sora to…._" Her voice rang out, clear as a bell across the rooftop. It could even be heard from the grounds in front of the school, although not well.

* * *

><p>Unknown to Ranma, and forgotten by the others, directly below the impromptu dance studio on the roof was Otonokizaka's music room. It was occupied, as it usually had been during the year, by a single student. She may have only been a year younger than the trio on the roof, but she was nearly the same height. Blazing red hair flared as she played at the piano in front of her, humming along to her newest composition. She paused in her playing, opening her violet eyes to look over the notes.<p>

This was Nishikino Maki.

She was about to begin another run through when she heard a voice calling out from the window. "_...ryoutte, hirogete! Kanjitai!"_ In her youth going up through the music world, she had heard a lot of girls singing. This. . . if she were to be honest, whoever the voice belonged to had no real training, but she had _passion_.

Maki thought for a bit, then decided she wasn't getting any more work done on this song today. She started trying to figure out the accompaniment to the tune she heard coming from the roof.

She'd be negligent to let a voice like that not be at her best for Mu's.

* * *

><p>"...awww!" a sudden exclamation from Honoka broke off the pig-tailed girl's singing. "Our <em>roof!<em>"

Ranma's attention was drawn to the place where she'd landed. Right in the middle of the roof, there was a dent in the wood underneath the solid tiling. "Awww, dammit!" She groaned. "I'm sorry 'bout that. Look, where do ya keep the supplies around here?"

Umi raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me you can also . . . "

"Yeah, gotta fix up the dojo all the time." Ranma shrugged. "How hard could it be?" She barreled through the door at nearly top speed, surprising a fourth girl.

Had the younger Saotome been paying more attention, he'd have noticed that he had nearly knocked her off the stairs. She did manage to catch onto the railing without going over, however, and righted herself, checking to make sure she hadn't been noticed by those on the roof. Taller, with her long hair in ponytails, her normally serene face was marred a bit by a flush of panic and the slight pain of being pushed aside. She briefly reflected that it could have been worse, and really was her own fault for spying, blue-green eyes quickly returning to normal.

This was Toujou Nozomi.

She pulled out her ever-handy tarot deck and quickly shuffled the cards, checking the top one. "The Sun...Bright Apollo, huh?" She glanced down the stairs after the redhead. "This is going to be so interesting."

* * *

><p>Ranma heard a few familiar chords on the piano as she passed by the music room. She turned, looking in to see another red-head playing, or more precisely puzzling over the keys. "Hey, whatcha doin'?"<p>

"I heard someone singing on the roof, just trying to work out the HEY!" Maki jumped up in shock, before looking over the speaker, a soft blush coming to her cheeks. "I mean, uhm, hi. I was just…"

"Oh, yeah, that was me." Ranma scratched the back of her head nervously.

Maki gave the pig-tailed girl another look over. "Oh...uhm, do you think you could teach me the accompaniment to that one? I'm helping you guys out - "

"Oh, I don't go to the school," Ranma didn't catch the look of disappointment. "But I know Kasumi has some sheet music. If ya don't mind waitin' till tomorrow I'll see if I can borrow a copy for ya."

Maki swallowed, barely meeting the other girl's blue eyes. "Yeah. Do you want to listen to me play for real?"

Ranma blinked a few times. "Eh, maybe later. Gotta fix the roof right now."

Maki was so stunned by this declaration she didn't say anything when Ranma went off, whistling.

* * *

><p>She was the tallest girl in the school, her Russian heritage plain in her features. The silky golden-blonde hair and bright blue eyes were something of a giveaway as well. With a remote, distant bearing, she had a large number of admirers throughout the school, although she was only tangentially aware of the fact beyond that it was somewhat responsible for getting her her position as the President of the Student Council. Her body, for all that she hadn't been in serious training for almost a year, was still lithe, and her steps graceful.<p>

This was Ayase Eri.

And all of her work at maintaining a cool, dignified attitude went out the window in a nanosecond. But she was somewhat grateful for that.

When the pig-tailed girl in strange Chinese clothing ran right by her, she was so shocked she nearly went out with them! It took her only a moment to right herself, but by then the girl had nearly turned back into the stairwell. She did the only thing she could think of.

"H-hey! This is a school! You can't just run around here at random!"

The girl stopped, just for a moment, turning around to face her with intent eyes. "It ain't random. I'll be gone by the end of the day, promise!"

Eri was about to say something else, anything to get this...weirdness...out of her school, but by then the girl had rounded a corner at a full sprint and was gone.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, two more schoolgirls of note were at the athletic field. One was in the standard gym uniform of school T-shirt and bloomers, while the other wore the school uniform.<p>

The first girl would have been about two inches shorter than Honoka, standing side-by-side. Her light green eyes were practically tearing up with sweat dripping into them from the exertion of her run on the track. With coppery red hair messed up by the wind, she was the very picture of 'tomboy' in a way Akane didn't really match.

This was Hoshizora Rin.

The girl near her, with a stopwatch, smiled brightly. "Rin, I think that was your best time today!" Her darker blonde hair was more neatly trimmed, but still short. The same height, her amethyst-colored eyes were shining with excitement. "I think you'll make the track team for sure." She made sure her thick-rimmed glasses were in place as well.

This was Kozumi Hanayo.

"Kayochi. . . " Rin used her nickname for the girl who had been her longest-time friend. "I'm more worried about you. Aren't you going to go for it?"

Hanayo was about to respond, the predictable blush of embarassment already starting to appear, when a blur wearing a pair of black Chinese pants and a red shirt with wood-fasteners went right by them. Both girls stared as the newcomer went into the maintenance shed. "Uhh…" Rin was stunned, to say the least. "...how fast was she going?"

That was answered when the girl came back out of the shed, still jogging at the same ludicrous speed. This time she had a number of ceiling tiles slung over her back, tied together with some twine, and a plastic bucket full of something so heavy it was straining the handle for her to grab onto it one-handed. She had a flat spade clenched firmly between her teeth, and on the whole appeared to be carrying enough to weigh more than she did.

Rin glanced back at Hanayo. "I've gotta get my time down,"

"...yeah."

* * *

><p>Ranma jogged back up the stairs. She had considered briefly just making the jump, or running up the side of the building, but neither option seemed great when up against the relative fragility of her cargo. So instead she just started going back up the stairwell.<p>

A plan that went awry when she very nearly ran into a certain blonde again. "All right, missy!" Eri shouted at her. "I don't know who you think you are, but you're not allowed here!"

Ranma spat her tool out, catching and idly balancing it on one foot so she could stick her tongue out at the bossy girl in front of her. "Don't know who you think _you_ are but I got somethin' I gotta do before I go."

"I am the president of Otonokizaka High School's student council, and this school has enough problems without thi...thi...thi…" Eri trailed off into babbling as she took in the whole scene in front of her. "Wha...how are…"

Ranma flipped the spade back onto the top of her head. "Eh, just good balance. Not that ya'd know anything 'bout that. Now, ya gonna let me clean up or do you get ta do it, prez?"

Eri nearly felt steam coming out of her ears when a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked back at the familiar face with the twin ponytails.

"Erichi," Nozomi said quietly. "I agree it's against the rules, but is there really a problem if she just wants to fix something before going home?"

Ranma looked between the two. "Heh. You, I think I like. Seeya," And without another word, she was gone.

Eri stared at her best friend, then threw up her hands. "I don't get you lately," she finally decided on as a response.

Nozomi grinned, and revealed The Sun card. "The cards say we should be on the lookout for new opportunities. I think she may be the last thing we need."

"Then why let her stay?" the president took the opportunity to go on the offense, but was stymied when Nozomi just smiled back at her in that serene way she had.

"Well, for one thing," came the response "Look at how much that tiny girl was carting around. If she really wants to stay, do you think we have the slightest chance in the world of stopping her?"

* * *

><p>Keys slammed down onto the piano in frustration. With the promise of the very thing she had been working on, she quickly decided to try to get back to doing something productive. Try, but she couldn't get the other redhead out of her thoughts. Something about the girl, whether it be her bright blue eyes or the obvious beauty of her figure even under the over-sized clothing was just driving her to utter distraction.<p>

She tried again, playing one note at a time, when another flash of crimson hair drew her attention away from the piano - again - and she saw . . . _uh, wow. She's. . . . strong. _The strange girl had apparently stopped by for another quick listen, but seeing she wasn't really managing anything right now just gave her a rather sheepish grin and nod, her arms (and mouth) full, before turning and heading back towards the stairs.

Finally dismissing the whole thing as an exercise in frustration, at least for the day, she quietly started packing her sheet music into her school bag. _Don't know why I keep doing this anyway, my music 'career' is all but over,_ she thought to herself, feeling a pang of regret. Still, it wouldn't hurt to at least introduce herself to the girl. _It isn't her fault I'm distracted today._

She went towards the stairwell, only to catch a glimpse of the pig-tailed girl through the door. From one floor down. . . Maki went through a quick calculation in her head. _She must be jumping straight up four meters!_

A blush rose to her cheeks, and she quickly retreated towards home and an early bath to calm herself down.

* * *

><p>Back on the roof, while Ranma was busy giving Otonokizaka a taste of her unique brand of chaos, Honoka decided that a boy turning into a girl after dropping out of the sky was not grounds to stop practicing.<p>

"Honestly, you're taking this better than I thought you would," Umi confessed after the next run-through resulted in fewer injuries. "I'd heard rumors about Nerima for the past couple of years, and I really thought you'd want to check them out."

Honoka's eyes widened. "What _kind_ of rumors?"

"Oh no," Umi groaned inwardly. _Of course she's interested now._ "You want to find out, you just ask this Ranma about it. The stuff I've heard is _dangerous_ and he _did_ just claim to get punched across half the city."

"All right, I will," Honoka gave a quick nod to her dark-haired friend. "And how did we do?"

"...better," Umi conceded. "We've still got a long way to go in two weeks if we're going to be ready in time for Orientation Day,"

"Well, I'm sure at this rate we'll manage," Kotori moved back to her starting position. "One more try? Umi, you should do it with us this time,"

It was in the middle of the next repeat that Ranma finally made it back to the roof. The martial artist decided it was better to not interrupt their work at the far end of the roof, so at first she just did the repair work quietly, the way she'd observed some of the guys who did the repairs to the Tendo home operating.

But Saotome Ranma was nothing if not a martial artist. And, to her mind, doing things the normal way was so _boring._ So, when she got to the last few tiles to put down, she slathered some glue on the back, and then leaped four meters into the air to get a good angle, tossing them perfectly into place before landing on top with a burst of _ki_ pushed through her legs to increase the pressure on them. "There!"

Honoka found her attention drawn away from the dance by a flash out of the corner of her eye, looking up to see Ranma all but hovering in the air. Unfortunately, this came at a moment when she was _supposed_ to be switching places with Umi. The other girl crashed into her face-to-skull, sending Honoka stumbling forward while the black-haired girl's hands flew to her nose and teeth with a sharp cry of pain.

Honoka tried to recover from the unexpected shove, planting her ankle at an odd angle and falling to the ground with a much louder shriek of pain.

The first pained sound was dismissed as the simple accident it was, but when Ranma heard the second she turned her head away from the stairwell to the dancers, and winced in sympathy. "Ah, dammit," She ran to Honoka's side along with the other two. "I been injured a few times," she explained to the other two, who were looking skeptical. "Part of bein' a martial artist." She turned her attention to Honoka, who was whimpering. "What hurts, 'zactly?" She suddenly sounded calming, almost gentle.

Honoka bit her lip. "Right ankle. It feels broken,"

"Let me take a look. . . " The red-headed girl pulled off the shoe and sock, giving it a quick look. "Well, it ain't broken but that's a pretty nasty twist. Uhm...hold on a sec," She pulled out an older model cell phone and quickly took a picture. She quickly sent it off attached to a text message, _Hey, Doc. Girl's twisted her ankle, can you give me the basics?_

The reply was almost immediate, showing three shiatsu points along with quick instructions. _This will let her walk, but don't put more weight than necessary for at least 24 hours - Tofu,_

Ranma quickly performed the described treatment, the whole process taking less than a minute. "Looks like we lucked out. Doc was between patients," he explained.

Honoka's eyes widened in amazement as the pain in her ankle suddenly receded completely. "How did you do that? It's like magic! Are you a wizard? Is that how you change genders? Could I learn to change my shape?! Oooh, what else can you do?"

Kotori and Umi just sighed while Ranma looked decidedly nonplussed. "It's just some pressure points," Ranma explained carefully. "Along with a bit of _ki_ to stimulate them under the skin. I guess you could learn it, don't take much to get that to work, but you'd probably need ten years o' regular meditation if ya don't have the knack,"

The disappointment was palpable coming from Honoka, as was the relief from her friends. But it didn't take long for Honoka to bounce back. "Oh, well, thanks. One more time for good luck?"

Ranma's jaw dropped. "Hey, wait, ya can't do that!"

"Why not?" Honoka asked. "I feel great!"

Ranma's head smacked into her hand. "Yer still injured, ya dummy! I just numbed the pain. But if ya try ta dance again you'll be off your feet for weeks tomorrow."

"It's getting late, Honoka," Kotori decided to play peacemaker. "Maybe we should stop for the day,"

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "Why don't ya do your cooldown stretches?" Everybody stared at her. "What?"

"Usually we just. . . finish up." Umi explained.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Ya mean ya don't do any flexibility trainin'? That's gonna be just as important for dancin' as the Art, ya know. Here, let me show ya. . . ."

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Honoka found herself leaning on Ranma for support. Not because her ankle hurt, but because it was proving pretty much impossible to disengage from the shorter red-head without tripping again. It would probably have been more annoying if that wasn't all she was doing, letting her chat with Umi and Kotori without any comment of her own, just a sheepish grin every now and again. But, they finally reached her home, a sweets shop named 'Homura,'<p>

"Okay. This is my stop," she chirped, trying for the fourth time to get Ranma out from under her arm. Somehow, this ended up the same way as all the other times, a gentle stumble and then once again she was being supported. "Uh...did you hear me, Ranma? This is my home."

Ranma grinned up at her. "Yeah, I heard. And you live on the second floor, yeah? C'mon."

Honoka looked helplessly at her two other friends. "Uhm, little help here?"

"Hey, you invited her," Umi seemed caught between amusement and annoyance. "Besides, she still owes you a bottle of water."

Kotori just shook her head. "It's a bit late. We should probably head home and study,"

"...okay, bye," Honoka was left nervous with the prospect of. . . "Hey, Ranma, could you do me a favor and not mention you're really a boy? At least for today. I think it'd make too much noise with my parents to have you in my room."

Ranma looked decidedly nonplussed by that, but sighed. "Okay, yeah, I've put ya out enough I guess."

The door opened, and a woman with the same ginger hair as Honoka loomed over the pair. "And what's this about inviting a boy up to your room, daughter?"

"Aheheheheh…." two voices said in complete unison. Both distinctly feminine.

Mrs. Kousaka blinked, then leaned in and squinted _really_ closely at the other redhead. "Honoka, do we need to get your eyes checked?"

"Aheh….no mom," Honoka found herself sweating bullets. "Uh, this is Ranma, kinda met her at school, and she is in no way, shape, or form a boy," _at the moment_ she mentally completed, not saying it out loud.

"...and just why are you leaning on her like that?"

Ranma spoke up. "Just a twisted ankle. Doc I know says it'll be fine tomorrow if she stays offa it. So I offered to carry her home, but she didn't want that much help…"

"I see," Mrs. Kousaka just sighed. "Very well dear, why don't you go up to your room with your new friend and I'll bring up some sweet buns,"

Ranma's eyes brightened at that prospect. "Oh, thanks Ma'am! I am feeling hungry!"

* * *

><p>Honoka was completely dumbfounded. On a plate in front of her sat her share of the sweets on offer, which had gone untouched. However, the shares that had originally been meant for Umi and Kotori before their late practice had both been placed in front of Ranma. They had lasted precisely as long as it took her mother to close the door. "Wow, these are really good! You make good stuff!"<p>

"...ah, yeah. If you promise to taste them you can have mine too…" Honoka said slowly. Ranma picked up the first one and began to chew. "Ah, anyway, Ranma. You seem to know a lot about dancing,"

Ranma swallowed, nearly choking on the treat. "Nah," she said after a quick cough to clear her throat. "But I do know martial arts, and I can kinda see what you're doin' and how it relates."

"Oh." Honoka blinked. "What school do you study?"

"'s a family style. Saotome School of 'Anything Goes.'"

_Umi's gonna kill him_, Honoka thought to herself. _Well, no, I don't think that's possible. But she'll _try_. _Out loud, she said "That's really interesting. So, who managed to punch you that hard?"

"Eh, it was just my fiance. One of 'em. Got two that really count, I think the last count on total was up to twelve but got most of those settled."

_...okay, that's terrifying._ Honoka decided to drop that topic for the moment, or at least just accept it. "Sounds like you need some time away from her now and again. Maybe you'd like to come help us out after school some more? If you're not too busy anyway."

Ranma looked a bit startled at the question. "Just what is it you think I can do?"

"Well, you can't join up since you don't go to our school, but Umi's kind of overwhelmed actually running the practices. And your school's named 'Anything Goes' and you said you can see the similarities. Maybe you can learn _something_ from watching us?"

Ranma was about to dismiss the idea, but then the memories of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics and Martial Arts Figure Skating poked up into the front of her awareness. With just how stupid some of the challengers had gotten, with this new School Idol thing. . . if she didn't take Honoka up on the offer she could end up completely blindsided later and begging for help. On the other hand, if she _did _take the offer it was practically a guarantee that there wouldn't be some kind of pop idol challenging her because that would actually be in her favor for once.

For once, that didn't seem like a downside.

"Hey, what's the worst that can go wrong, huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Song in this chapter: Mu's (Honoka, Umi, and Kotori) - 'Start :: Dash" from 'Susume - Tomorrow' single._

* * *

><p>Ranma decided, for once, to board the train back towards Nerima. The sun had long since gone down, and while she could negotiate the roofs most of the way, the most direct paths back all went through really built-up areas where a mistake would be a problem, and this time she wanted to think about what had just happened.<p>

Her family and the Tendos would have to be kept out of the loop on this one. There was just no way to explain that she was getting back into the idol game without setting off yet another disaster her life did not need.

She swiped her rarely-used train card across the contact sensor as she started to think back to the scene, soon after her return to Japan from the China training trip where she had gotten the curse, moved into the Tendo home, and found out about the first (or possibly second (or maybe not, it was hard to recall them all)) engagement...

* * *

><p>A tall young woman, with straight brown hair halfway down her back. She seemed like she was never without her apron, or a sewing needle, or other accoutrements of her position in the Tendo household. With a face that usually radiated serenity, she was always smiling, even when suggesting the most ludicrous things. Like right now.<p>

This was Kasumi Tendo.

"Now, Ranma," Kasumi had said, as she always did in that kind voice of hers "I know you don't think you'll enjoy it, but everyone loves to sing at some point. I've heard your voice, and it's very lovely,"

"Don't _want_ a 'lovely' voice," Ranma had groused in return. "Besides, why you gotta have me do it?"

"Well, two reasons," Kasumi explained. "One, I think it might be best for you to spend some time with Akane doing something that isn't the Art."

"Don't _wanna_ spend time with 'kane."

"..and the other is that I originally wrote these songs for five parts. Akane and Nabiki have agreed to do it already, but we'd still be short. I could re-write for four, but three would be tricky," Kasumi explained.

Ranma grumbled, but really, Kasumi's cooking alone meant doing her a favor was the least he could do. "Yeah, all right. Just 'till ya find a replacement."

* * *

><p>Ranma and Akane opened the door to the unused classroom at Furinkan, then froze next to each other on seeing the 'fifth' member, who Kasumi had somehow failed to mention.<p>

A figure with curves that would make a model jealous. Hard muscle underneath a chenogasm that didn't leave any of it to the imagination, with her long purple hair done up in side buns. Blue eyes that could go from emotion to emotion at the blink of an eye, and often did. Too often to 'murderous intent' in Ranma's opinion.

This was Xian-pu. Or 'Shampoo' to most of her current acquaintances in Japan.

"What's she doin' here?!" Ranma asked. "Ya do know she tried ta help keep me locked less than a month ago!"

"I didn't agree to let this bimbo in either!" Akane shouted, equally incensed.

Kasumi sighed. "I thought she could stand some time away from her shop. She really needs to learn more Japanese before she's ready to start school here, and this might be a way for her to learn." The young woman, normally soft-spoken, briefly went hard. "Now, the one rule for our sessions is this – when we're practicing, everything else is left at the door. If you can't hold to this, we'll cut the practices off."

Ranma shrugged. It usually wasn't her fault when the violence started anyway. Well, usually. "I can manage that,"

Akane grumbled "I can be civil if she can,"

"Shampoo agree. No try get Husband to come home until get back to Nekohanten. That rule, yes?" Akane and Ranma both boggled at this uncharacteristic declaration.

Kasumi beamed at them. "It's settled, then. When Nabiki gets here, we'll get started."

Akane sat down in a fold-out chair roughly. "Well, we're gonna need a name for this little band of yours, Kasumi."

Kasumi just gave her a smile. "I was thinking 'DoCo'... "

* * *

><p>The voice announcing the train's arrival at the Nerima station broke her out of her reverie. With a sigh, she hopped over the tracks and down from the elevated platform onto the nearest rooftop. From there, it was only a brisk run to the Tendo dojo, and thus home.<p>

"I'm home," she announced, landing in the courtyard. Kasumi was waiting with a hot kettle, which she poured over her own head. "Thanks,"

"I'm sorry about dinner, Ranma. I had to put the leftovers in the fridge for you,"

Ranma just grinned in response, giving her a grateful little bow before heading towards the kitchen. After that, she seemed to remember something and turned back. "Hey, Kasumi. Someone heard me singin' one of our old songs on my way back home. Promised I'd bring her the sheet music tomorrow. Ya have a copy you can spare?"

Kasumi stopped, surprised. "I suppose it's all right. Just make her promise not to perform it without talking to me first. It's okay to call at home for that."

"Thanks, Kasumi!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Honoka had finished all of her 'easy' homework and turned to the math. At the same time, since her laptop wasn't needed for the homework anymore, she decided to start a quick video chat with Umi and Kotori. Of course, the topic quickly turned to Ranma.<p>

"Honestly, Honoka…" Umi said, exasperated. "I never wanted to say anything, but Nerima's supposed to be _weird. _I don't think getting mixed up with this guy is a good idea. We have enough to worry about."

Kotori sensed an argument brewing, and decided to cut it off. "Weird _how?_"

The dark-haired girl leaned back from her camera to try to think of an answer that _wouldn't_ have Honoka running off to see for herself. "There's a lot of martial artists in the district. Not like my family, if even half the rumors are true it's like some kind of collection of throwbacks to Tokugawa or something. Jumping onto buildings, freak weather accidents, and that's the normal people. It may just be an exaggeration, but with what we saw this afternoon I don't think so anymore."

Honoka thought about it for a moment. "Okay, Umi, I see this is important to you. How about this? I won't set foot off the train without Ranma right there. She's my friend, so I'm sure he wouldn't let me get near anything like that. Okay?"

Two girls blinked. "Honoka, did you just mix your pronouns?"

The ginger seemed to think about it for a moment. "Uhm, yeah, why?"

Kotori's response came faster. "I don't think he'd like you thinking of him as a girl."

"Well, he _is_ a girl. Unless she's a boy."

Umi found herself just chuckling helplessly. "Right, so, you invited her in. What happened after that?"

"Well, we talked for a bit…" Honoka gulped. "Most of it was pretty normal but Ranma's life is a pretty weird thing."

Umi momentarily felt her blood run cold. "How so?"

"She's like something out of a storybook," Honoka failed to notice Umi getting paler. "He spent about nine years wandering Japan looking for the best martial artists in Japan to train against, along with all this living in the wilderness, never staying in one place long. Then, when they ran out of places in Japan, they went to China and started their way across the wilderness there for a year.

"That was where she picked up the curse. There's this place called," Honoka paused for a moment, to make sure she got the pronunciation right. "Jusenkyo. Apparently there's a hundred springs, and every one of them curses you to turn into something different if you fall in."

Umi started to furiously type on her own laptop while Honoka continued. "Plus I guess his father's really absentminded or something. Apparently he engaged him to a whole bunch of girls on the road or something. Still took the dowries, which isn't right but I guess most of the claims are settled."

Kotori blinked at this rapid-fire inundation of information. "What was the point of all that?"

Honoka shrugged. "Well, I guess to be the best martial artist she could be. I'd say it worked, if she can get punted across the city like that and not be seriously hurt.

Umi sighed. "Well, I can't find anything on this Jusenkyo place, but I guess with Ranma that probably doesn't mean anything. Still, it's not like he's going to come back out. People in Nerima are really secretive about this stuff, and I guess the signal out there isn't good so there's not much credible stuff online, just rumors and faked vids. I'm just going to forget about seeing him again, and I suggest you two do the same."

Honoka chuckled nervously.

* * *

><p>"What's <em>he<em> doing back here?" was the first question, from black-haired Umi.

Ranma was _really_ beginning to regret his decision to help. Sure, Honoka was probably the nicest girl he'd met in over a year, and the fact that she'd never try to kill him was definitely a plus. But Umi was acting incredibly hostile, and even had a faintest tinge of battle aura. "Look, Honoka asked me, all right?" Best to just be honest, he thought.

"And just why _did_ you ask?" Umi's ire was turned next on the ginger next to Ranma, currently in girl-form, on the rooftop. "We don't need help!"

"Actually," Ranma felt the need to cut in. "That's exactly what Honoka thinks ya do need. You're all in decent shape for how long you've been at it, but ya need some more. So, we're gonna try some workout sessions from the old Saotome training handbook," Ranma thought about that for a second. "Well, the basic version. I don't think ya need half the crazy stuff my old man tried."

Umi snorted. "We're doing _fine_ without you,"

"Well, the other reason was ta get _you_ some more practice time," Ranma pointed out. "Got somethin' worked out. Need ya ta let me know when it's too much."

Umi's lip curled up, but she couldn't argue the logic of that. "Honoka, okay, fine, we need someone to help, but why... why _him?"_

Blue eyes met amber. "Because,"

Umi took a moment to consider the idea. "This is another one of your 'climbing tree' moments, isn't it?" she carefully hid her further exasperation, knowing it wouldn't do any good. "Fine. But remember, we need to practice too. How's the ankle?"

"It's great!" Honoka did a few jumping jacks to demonstrate the fact. "So, what's first?"

* * *

><p>Kotori was dying. She was sure of it. This boy-girl from the sky was Death come to claim the three of them early for daring to challenge fate.<p>

Without room to run, Ranma had instead started them on calisthenics. That wasn't anything they hadn't been doing. The problem was Ranma seemed to have an... unrealistic standard of "normal."

"You're only on fifty! Come on, we need to hit a hundred before you're finished!"

Kotori tried to keep pushing her arms into the ground, she really did. But it was just impossible. At fifty three they simply wouldn't give another push. She risked a glance over at the other two. Umi was still managing to keep pace, but she had long since lost her smile and was looking completely exhausted. And Honoka…

Still had a strained, painful smile plastered on her face, moving at about half the rate the pig-tailed martial artist was marking out, but kept on going, even still only at forty-five repetitions.

Finally, the boy seemed to notice his charges were having trouble. "Okay, time,"

Kotori collapsed to the ground with a whine of agony, while Umi let out a huff of effort. "He's going to kill us," Umi said to her friend.

Ranma blinked. "Honoka, time!" Kotori managed to roll over until she could see Honoka again, who was still trying to do the exercise. "TIME! Honoka, that's enough!"

"Y..you said 100." Honoka groaned. "F-f-forty eight."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Look, that's your goal. We'll get you there, but you're still starting out right. I'll take what you can give," Although the boy couldn't keep just a bit of disappointment out of his voice.

"Forty-n-n-niiiine!" Honoka managed to growl out around her smile. "I...I can't give up now! We have ta.. to be ready... "

Umi and Ranma put hands on her shoulders at the same time, then looked up at each other in surprise. Umi spoke next, gently. "Honoka, you shouldn't expect to be that good right away. Ranma... " She sighed, not wanting to concede this. "I think Ranma's on a whole other level from us,"

"Yeah. What's worth this?" Ranma asked.

Honoka finally took the hint and sat up. "We're trying to save the school from closing down!"

Ranma tilted his head. "Okay. How's the school idol gig supposed to help that?"

Kotori managed to catch her breath. "School idols are really popular right now. If we can attract enough attention to Otonokizaka with our songs, we might get the closure delayed or even canceled."

"That's about the size of it," Umi shook her head. "So this really doesn't concern you."

Ranma winced at that. It really didn't, but... "Yeah, but I don't wanna leave a friend hangin'. I don't really got enough of 'em." Umi tried hard not to look impressed by that declaration, and only partially succeeded. Ranma offered a hand to Honoka to help her up. "Look, I got where you three are at now. I know a guy, maybe he can give me some advice on how not to kill ya when we do this tomorrow. For now, let's run through your routine. Honoka gave me the basics on how to call out the time... "

Ranma's jaw dropped as all three girls groaned in pain one last time, flopping bonelessly to the ground. "I think you meant that as encouragement," Umi managed to get out with her face planted firmly against the roof.

* * *

><p>With about half an hour left to go in the session, Ranma's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, forgot something. Umi, can you take over here? Thanks." Without waiting for a response, Ranma was gone down the stairwell. Umi rolled her eyes. "Right. Take it from the top – One, Two, Three, Four." With Umi clapping out and calling the time, the girls performed each step of the dance, until finally the dark-haired girl spotted something.<p>

"Honoka, have you been doing that all day? You've gotten those gestures backwards. Again!"

Honoka winced and went defensive. "Well, Ranma didn't spot it."

"This is why I didn't want to invite him back!" Umi shouted.

Kotori put a hand on Umi's shoulder, then pushed a step chart into her hands. "...Umi, this is the one you gave me and Honoka. See, hers _is_ backwards."

Umi blinked. She looked up. "Honoka, go through it again?" Honoka quickly made the three pointing gestures of that line in the song. "...dammit. Sorry, that _was_ my fault. How did I not notice 'till now?"

Umi grumbled at Honoka's satisfied little grin.

* * *

><p>Ranma slid open the door to the music room. "Oh, hey," That was about all he managed to get out before Maki slammed her hands on the keys, jumping back from the piano in shock.<p>

"Wh-wh-wha?" The redhead stared at him. "This is a girl's school, you can't be around here!"

Ranma blinked, completely puzzled. "Oh, right, I completely forgot about the curse." He walked up to her as he spoke, ignoring the signs of fright radiating from the first-year girl.

This proved to be the wrong thing to say. "Cu-cu-cu-cu-curse!?" Maki stammered, edging towards the corner.

"Ah, geez, it ain't catching or anything," Ranma rolled his eyes. "Look, sorry I scared ya, but I wanted to bring down the sheet music ya asked for."

Maki completely ignored him. "Ge-get out of this school! You're not supposed to be here!" she repeated, starting to get a little of her courage.

Ranma rolled his eyes even further, walking up to her with the folder in hand. "Ah, last time I do you a favor, huh? Listen, I was invited back, you got a problem ya take it up with Honoka, O'course, it'll have ta wait 'till I'm done with her."

If Maki weren't so panicky about the sudden appearance of someone who wasn't supposed to be present, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the girl from yesterday and, no doubt, was much stronger than even that, advancing on her position, she would probably have calmed down enough to consider the situation rationally.

Pity for Ranma that gender-changing wasn't his only curse.

* * *

><p>Eri was in a state, to say the least. The news of the school's imminent shutdown had hit everybody pretty hard. It was a particular surprise to her, although in hindsight it shouldn't have been. The school was built to manage over a thousand students, but less than two hundred remained.<p>

Oh, she understood the problems. In this new century, while the private school remained the dominant form of education, some things _had_ changed. Many schools were now mixed-gendered where back when the charter for Otonokizaka had been established segregation of the sexes was the norm. Traditionally-built facilities were an extravagant luxury when competitions could easily be held in public spaces dedicated to the old art forms. She knew about the alpacas, and that seemed to help somewhat, but it wasn't a specialty school with a dedicated animal husbandry program.

It was a simple problem. Japan's population decline was finally hitting home with her generation. Schools were closing everywhere, not just hers, and the field was becoming ever-more competitive. It seemed every school had an edge, something no one in the area could offer. The board of directors at Otonokizaka had bet on students being interested in a long history of tradition and a classical educational program.

And when she looked at the pamphlets for the competing schools, she could understand why that had been a losing wager. But her family had a long tradition too, of going to Otonokizaka Academy. A significant portion of her family's wealth had been donated to the trust fund keeping the school in operation now – a lucky thing for the current attendees, since without that the school would have had to close without allowing current students to graduate. But she wanted her daughters to go here some day.

She needed to do something to drum up publicity.

But more than that, it needed to be the _right _publicity. Any increase in the school's visibility would help, but not if it violated their long-standing traditions or had the side-effect of making them seem anything less than perfectly dignified. The end result of that might be that the school managed to stay open another year or two, but would then gain a reputation as a place no one wanted to attend, ultimately dooming them.

As far as Ayase Eri was concerned, the sudden appearance of Chinese girls with pig-tails and unnatural strength could only lead to the wrong sort of publicity.

The only thing that could make it worse would be the weird girl's big brother deciding to hang out at the school. The loss of face from something like that would be too much to overcome.

So when she saw a boy in an outfit similar to the girl from yesterday head into the music room, she sprinted down the long hallway to try to tell the intruder off.

Then she heard a shriek. _What was that girl's name? Nishikino!?_

She slammed the door open. "Hold it right there!"

Now, to be fair to Eri, what she saw looked bad. Maki was backed into a corner, with a strange boy very close to her. And given the scream she had just heard, it didn't exactly seem consensual. "I don't know who you think you are, mister, but get out of this school before I call the police!" Her hand was already going to her cell phone to do just that.

Ranma had come to Nerima all but ignorant of modern technology, but a year of living in Nerima had introduced him to the basics. He wasn't _doing_ anything, but in this situation he could get in serious trouble if the blonde called the police or, worse, took a picture of the situation. Eri was across the room, though, and an ordinary martial artist would not be able to intercept the phone before she could wield its' terrifying power against him.

Ranma was no ordinary martial artist.

From Eri's perspective, in the blink of an eye a pen had knocked the phone from her hand. The boy shot towards it as it flew through the air, intercepting it before it landed on the ground. With a smirk, he gestured towards the open window with it as if to toss it. "Y..you wouldn't dare! This is the third floor!"

Ranma grinned like a devil, idly fingering the touch-screen on the phone before flicking his arm in a tossing motion. Eri and Maki both instinctively turned to look only to realize the phone hadn't been thrown at all, and Ranma was making his way towards the door at the back of the classroom. "STOP! THIEF!"

The martial artist winced at that, although he didn't stop keying into the phone. He didn't like being compared to his father, and _that_ was as close a comparison as one could get. He looked over his shoulder, seeing the pair chasing after him. If he went all out he could get away, but that would mean taking the corners completely blind and, with his luck, he'd run into someone else.

Like that green-eyed girl with the twin ponytails. "Here, take this!" he shoved the blonde's phone into Nozomi's hands as he managed – barely – to slide around her.

Nozomi could only stare in utter bewilderment as Maki and Eri caught up. "Uh...Erichi," she said to her friend. "I think this is you... "she trailed off, looking down at the screen. Suddenly, she swallowed a loud laugh with a choking sound.

"Wha…" Eri snatched the phone and looked at the screen. The wallpaper on the phone had been changed to a background with the symbol for 'bossy.' "Ooooh! I'll get him next time!"

Nozomi didn't bother to restrain her laughter after that.

* * *

><p>"<em>Mata hitotsu…<em>" Honoka put as much feeling as she could manage into her solo part, feeling (for the first time) that they really had the whole routine down now.

She then nearly took another tumble as Ranma landed lightly in front of her. "Geez! Don't scare me like that!"

Ranma glanced at the trio. "Uh, look, sorry about this but I gotta run for today. Maybe ya heard the scream?"

Umi held onto her forehead. "That was you?"

"Uh, well, no, it was this cute redhead," Ranma said sheepishly. "But I kinda spooked her, I guess she wasn't expecting a boy or somethin'."

"Well, this _is_ an all-girls school." Kotori pointed out reasonably.

Honoka sighed. "Knew I should have done this as soon as you got here," With that, a water bottle was grabbed from the shade and tossed in Ranma's general direction. "Change back, quick."

Ranma gave her a dirty look, but shouts coming from the stairway convinced him and he upended the bottle over his head. She had barely changed when the door slammed open and Eri came storming through. "You!" She shouted at the new redhead – because Maki was coming up behind her, looking distinctly shell-shocked. "I thought I told you to get out of here!"

"I invited her!" Honoka countered.

Eri's head snapped towards the ginger-haired girl. "You _can't_ invite peo-" Nozomi's hand landed on her shoulder, interrupting her and causing her to turn around. "_Nozomi!_"

"Students _can_ invite guests as long as they don't cause a disturbance." Nozomi's smile was pretty unnerving. Eri actually went pale at the anger radiating off the normally sanguine girl. "And I'm sure _Miss_ Saotome there didn't cause any problems, _am I right_?"

Ranma gulped. It reminded him very much of the (very) few times Kasumi had gotten angry, only somehow she knew that this girl in front of her would not be nearly as forgiving. "Ah, right, not meanin' to cause a disturbance here!"

Eri shook her head. "I'll accept that you and whoever that was don't mean to, so I won't call the police if you just go home and don't come back again,"

"Wait," Maki said quietly. "I still need my sheet music,"

Ranma gulped. "Uhh...er…."

"She forgot it, but her brother called to drop it by," Honoka declared. "Right, Ranma?"

"Y-yeah, that's it." A grateful look was shot at Honoka.

"...oh." Maki twirled her hair. "Sorry, you should have said something. I guess I panicked."

"It's cool, we're cool," Ranma was really sweating now.

Eri sniffed. "Well, now that that's settled you'll be leaving, yes?"

"Eh, I still promised to help them out. It's a matter of honor," Ranma said firmly.

Umi frowned. She knew these martial artists better than any of the others - she was heir to the Sonoda schools after all. Ranma invoking that was a line in the sand.

On the other hand, the Student Council President looked about ready to flip her lid. Well, this could be a chance to get rid of the stranger before she did any more damage, and maybe earn some points on top. "Very well then, Saotome Ranma. I challenge you to a match. If I win, you agree to depart Otonokizaka High School immediately. Since you got here the first time against your choice and it may happen again I won't make your _never_ returning a condition," Eri glared at her, and she hastened to add "But if you should find yourself on school property at any point in the future you must leave by the most expedient route that doesn't involve harming anyone else."

Ranma turned and gave Umi a quick evaluation. The girl's stance, musculature, awareness, even her _ki. _"... no," She shook her head. "As a member of the Saotome school I'm not allowed to decline a challenge normally, but I can't take you seriously in a no-holds-barred match."

"WHAT?!" Umi screeched.

Ranma stood firm. "Umi, you'd _die._ No, really, if I went all out on you you'd be a splat on the floor. You haven't done any toughness training at all as near as I can tell."

Eri smiled like the cat who got the canary. Honoka gave Umi a betrayed look, but then realized how she could still save this. She stepped up right behind Ranma and whispered into his ear "You can set your terms for the match, right? Just pick something that's fair and safe for Umi."

Ranma blinked in surprise, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. In all truth, it hadn't – one of the guiding principles of Anything Goes was to win at any cost, after all. To deliberately hand your opponent an advantage was anathema – but if he didn't, he'd lose for forfeiting the match entirely. "Fine, I'll accept your challenge, on two conditions. One, if I win that's the end of this. No more pulling out that rulebook ta try to get me kicked outta here when I've still got something to do."

Eri looked about ready to protest, but Umi spoke over any objection. "Fine, and what's the other."

"Terms of the match," Ranma said, glancing to Honoka. "Uh."

Honoka groaned, realizing she'd need to step in again. "Look, there used to be a kempo club, and I know other schools have them and kids don't get sent to the hospital all the time. How?"

Umi rolled her eyes. "Usually formal competition is to a hit, but I _guess_ we can do it as a touch."

Ranma blinked. "I ain't done a match like that since I was five, but sure. Four out of five touches, and you can smack me as hard as you want and it still counts. Three touch handicap."

Umi was about to make a snide remark... until she realized that the offer was for her. "No way. Come on, you're not _that_ good."

Ranma just smirked.

* * *

><p>Otonokizaka had a dojo, next to the gym. Only the tatami floors made it ill-suited to the dance practice, since they needed to wear hard shoes that would damage them. Normally, the kendo team avoided practicing in here for much the same reason, reserving it for competition days.<p>

Thus the girls were undisturbed as they entered the place. Umi had apparently run ahead and borrowed a gi from somewhere, or possibly even gone home for one. She sat in the middle of the hall, waiting, hair tied back in a tight ponytail, only to stand up when Ranma entered. "I almost thought you decided not to do it after all."

"Nah, we just took the wrong way. Why's the school got a couple of sheep, anyway?" Ranma retained the confident smirk, stepping up to the line marking her starting point.

"I don't know, but they're pretty cute," Umi gave the tiny redhead a bow. "Not too late to back out and just go back to Nerima,"

Ranma flicked her pigtail back. "Something you should know. Saotome Ranma don't lose."

Umi charged at the girl, determined to wipe the smirk off her face. At the last second, she feinted from a straight punch right to the jaw into an attempt to shove her knee past the pig-tailed girl's guard.

It would have worked better if Ranma hadn't seemed to vanish at the last possible second. "Not bad," a voice came from about two feet behind her. She spun around, getting her guard up. "Akane wasn't half as smart the first time she fought me. I might have to take you seriously in a couple of years instead of a decade."

"How...how are you so fast?" Umi felt the blood draining from her face. "Is this magic?"

Ranma shook her head. "Nope, no magic here. You could do it, if you wanted. Now, c'mon."

Umi filed that tidbit away for later and closed the gap between them, lifting her leg up for a series of three vicious kicks to the knee, solar plexus, and head, only for Ranma to casually weave around the first two, then _catch_ the last and push, nearly sending her toppling to the ground.

In fact, she _would_ have toppled to the ground, but she found herself with an unlikely last-minute savior – specifically, Ranma. "Careful who you're gettin' fancy with, Sonoda, or you could get very hurt." Then she tapped her stomach. "Oh, and point."

"Are you _trying_ to humiliate me!?"

Ranma blinked in confusion. "Uh, yeah, actually. Is it working?"

Umi screamed and launched into another assault, punching faster and more furiously than before. Ranma genuinely smiled. "Now this is a little more like it," A punch forced him to move his head aside, and a kick to lean back, sacrificing flashier moves for economy of motion. "See, you're pretty good when you're taking it seriously."

"Die!"

Ranma was forced to the ground by a sudden roundhouse, and then to roll out of the way of a follow-up axial-kick. She rolled easily to her feet. "You sure you're not related to anyone in Nerima?" The answer came in the form of a measured punch to her mid-section that left just enough of an opening for Ranma to counter by lightly tapping Umi's ribs with her foot.

Eri growled. "...point to Miss Saotome."

Ranma stepped back, regarding Umi with a bit more wariness now. _Gets mad all right, but doesn't lose her cool or make any more mistakes. That's always dangerous. And she's only gotta tap me once. Pops would kill me for agreeing to these kinds of terms._

Meanwhile, Umi felt an undercurrent of serious fear in her anger. _This girl could easily kill me any time she wants! Why is she drawing this out?_ She took a moment to evaluate. _It doesn't matter, I'll beat her. I just have to get lucky once, right?_

"AHHHHH!" Umi shouted at the top of her lungs, keeping her feet on the ground and snapping her arms around in alternating windmills.

"Whoa!" Ranma actually jumped back after blocking several of the swings. "Got some Kung Fu in your style, or you improvising?" he asked, genuinely impressed. "Improvisation, thinking, keeping your head. Well, mostly. Damn, take that back, I'd better start taking you seriously _now_." Suddenly Umi found herself being tripped by a sweeping kick, landing on her back and gasping as the air left her lungs.

She slowly, very slowly, managed to get back to her feet. "Th..that's three-three, right?"

Ranma gave her a nod. "Do you wanna give up?"

"N..no way." Umi set herself down. "Come on."

For the first time, Ranma launched the first attack. It was still measured, careful, but each blow was coming at her at a speed she could only barely follow with her eyes. And that was the only concession she was getting, having to make sure to think a step ahead to not take the last touch. _I can't let this go on,_ she thought to herself. _If I do, he'll get me sooner or later. But there isn't a single hole in his defense._

Umi took a gamble.

The next time Ranma went for a kick, she raised her arm to block it from hitting her face. She wasn't strong enough for that, and she knew it, but then she relaxed and ducked under the blow, leading in with her elbow, only to freeze. There was a knife-hand at her throat, not quite touching...

"...I yield." Umi admitted.

Ranma grinned and lowered her leg. "You're better than I thought." She stepped back and offered a bow. "Talk to your sensei about _ki_ sometime soon and we can talk about a real match."

Honoka grinned broadly and turned to Eri. "Well?"

The blonde sniffed. "I never agreed to this."

Nozomi gave her best friend a rather shocked stare. "Erichi!"

Ranma sighed. "Well, it was fun, I guess. Sorry, Honoka."

Eri blinked as Nozomi stood up. "Stop. Miss Saotome, I apologize for my friend. You may come to the school as often as you like, as long as you understand your future behavior will reflect on Miss Kousaka. If there is another incident, as her guest _she_ is the one we will take to the headmistress for punishment."

Ranma gulped. "Okay, I got it."

And in the dojo's storage room, two eyes normally filled with malevolence looked on in speculation.

* * *

><p>As soon as the president and vice president were out of earshot, Umi turned and grabbed Ranma by the shirt. The action was so unexpected he allowed her to slam him into the wall. "All right, mister!" Ranma gulped. "We've already lost about a day to your shenanigans. I get that you're trying and this whole mess wasn't your fault, but too much more 'help' like this and you're gonna have to leave!"<p>

"UMI!" Honoka grabbed her best friend and pulled the pair apart. "It's _not_ his fault, so leave her alone about it! And you yourself admitted she did help out!"

Umi blushed. "Th..that's different. We could have gotten a metronome and I'd have spotted the same thing."

Ranma sighed. "Honoka, you're the one who wants me here. Your call, d'you want my help or no?"

Honoka bit her lip. "Well, it's _not_ just my call." She looked around. "We're a team. So... Kotori, what do you think?"

Kotori actually _squeaked_. "Me!? I mean, I... well, Ranma did help with your ankle, and he did make a good point with the flexibility exercises. So I think we should give him another chance."

Umi sighed. "Fine. At least for now. We've still got about half an hour, so let's do those new exercises and get going home."

And as the three idols walked away, Maki, who had been forgotten in the whole conversation, turned to Ranma, with a vaguely dazed look to her from everything that had happened. "Okay. So, _why_ do they keep calling you a guy?"

"Nehemiah...I go to an all-boys school?" Ranma tried.

"Uh huh."

Ranma felt herself sweating, and decided to try to change the subject. "So, if you're writing the music, why do you spend after school by yourself?"

"I...I don't see where that's any of your business!" It worked, instantly putting Maki on the defensive.

Ranma gave her a bright smile. "Well, it seems a waste. Cute girl like you could probably dance with them if you wanted, but even if you don't they're gonna need more than one song. Maybe try to work with us at least? I mean, I'm not in the group but it looks like I'm gonna be hangin' out with them."

Maki blushed at the compliment, and turned away to try to hide it. "I... I don't really like music like that."

"Then why'd you ask for Kasumi's sheets?" Ranma leaned with her back against the window. "At least think about it."

Maki smirked at her. "Only if you join up too."

"_I_ can't," Ranma shot back. "I don't go to this school, remember. Just helpin' out."

Maki swallowed. "Ah...right...but you will be there?"

"At least as long as Umi don't try to kill me."

Maki chuckled at that. "Well, okay. I'll try to show up now and again."

* * *

><p>Ranma walked through the front door of the Tendo home, slipping off her shoes. "Hey guys, sorry I'm home late again."<p>

Instead of Kasumi's voice, she was answered by another girl. With her hair styled into a bob cut around brown eyes that gave her a certain sensuality, her almost-eternal smirk was one of the few things that could drive Ranma to distraction. Even worse, from Ranma's perspective, she was physically on the same level as the Otonokizaka girls. Worse, because she had her own ways of getting to him and he had precious few defenses.

This was Nabiki Tendo.

"It isn't me who you need to apologize to, Saotome," she said in a dry tone. "You missed the takeout."

Ranma paled. "Takeout?" Now, if one was not familiar with the Tendo home, one might think the human vacuum that is Ranma Saotome would be disappointed at missing a meal. But this was not the case, because there could only be one reason for the Tendos to spontaneously order takeout.

"Akane saved you some of her dinner."

Ranma gulped. "Yeah, uh, Honoka fed me," he said haltingly, although tonight she hadn't.

"Honoka?" Nabiki blinked, rapidly. "_Another_ fiance? Seriously? And you took food from her?"

Ranma laughed. "Trust me, Nabs, Honoka's no fiance. Well, probably. She'd probably laugh if ya said it though. Maybe I'll tell her tomorrow."

"And just _who_ is _Honoka_ then?" another voice asked, coming around the corner. It was, of course, Akane. She was wearing one of Kasumi's frilliest aprons, and her cell phone was in her hand, the plastic cat case visibly deforming in her hand.

Ranma groaned. "Ah, look, just someone I met when ya punted me towards Akiba yesterday. Oh, yeah, thanks for that by the way, you _know_ I don't like that ward."

"Ranma!" Akane shouted. "That is not the issue here! I'm only gonna ask one more time! Who Is Honoka?"

Ranma gulped. "Ah look. Okay, she hurt herself practicin' yesterday. I sent an email to the Doc and managed to get her fixed up, and I noticed some flaws in her routine so I offered to help her figure out the warmups and stuff."

Nabiki frowned. "You're not a master, Ranma. You're not allowed to teach."

"Ah, I ain't showin' her the Art, Nabs. Just some exercise type stuff ya can pick up anywhere."

Ranma sweated some more. Akane was staring at her with narrowed eyes, but finally just sighed. "Okay, fine. And I guess you couldn't say 'no' to food. It is _you _after all."

Ranma grinned. _Whew, dodged that bullet._

"You sure you don't need anything?"

Ranma nodded rapidly. Akane's cooking could only charitably be compared to toxic waste, since it usually wouldn't kill you.

Akane smiled sadly. "Well, okay then... " And then she brightened. "Oh, I know! You can have it for breakfast!"


	3. Chapter 3

Honoka's room was pretty typical of a modern girl's bedroom. Western-style bed in one corner, a bookshelf full of manga, and a low table in the middle of the room that could be moved out of the way easily. Ranma had definitely approved of the softer yellows the decor favored, but it was, on the whole, just typical.

What was not typical was the conversation the previous night. Umi was at her wits' end, and unfortunately Honoka was on the receiving end, as usual.

"Honoka, this is too much!" The ginger was backed into a corner, while Kotori stared on in amazement. Umi had _never_ been this mad before. "I knew that boy was trouble, and _somehow_ he reduced us to a farce of a samurai drama _and got out of trouble!_ I get the feeling that you and he had a long talk last night, and now you are going to sit down and tell us _everything!_"

Honoka chuckled nervously. "I'm not sure it's my place to say. A lot of it was pretty personal."

"**HE TURNS INTO A GIRL!"** Umi shouted at the top of her lungs, not caring who heard. "If he's not embarrassed enough about that to hesitate, he's got no shame, so _spill_."

"All right, all right." Honoka sighed. "Just don't shout, my dad would have a coronary if I invited a boy up here."

"Ugh, fine." Umi took a seat at the table.

"Right." Honoka coughed. "So, I think I mentioned that he spent the past decade basically living in the wilds and out of dojo." She swallowed. "Umi, I really don't feel comfortable talking about this. To Ranma most of it wasn't a big deal, but it would have been pretty private to anyone else."

Umi's glare didn't waver for a second.

"Okay, fine. Ranma didn't go into a lot of detail, but what she did say was already pretty bad. Her father pretty much put him through every nightmare training scenario he could come up with. Most of it he wouldn't talk about, but there was a mention of his idea of 'toughness training.'"

Umi shrugged. "Well, that's not too bad, I guess. I mean, punching sand or stone would hurt but I've done a little of it."

"She had to run through a gauntlet of swinging oak branches when he was seven, swinging at a high enough speed to break bones. I only got him to say _that_ because I needed an explanation for how he could manage to survive being tossed over half of Tokyo on a regular basis."

Umi's expression softened. "Oh god... "

"There was also the fiances. As in multiple. You knew about that too, I think." Honoka swallowed. "I'm kind of guessing here, but I think Mister Saotome arranged most of them, knowing full well about the others."

Umi's resolve finally broke. "Oh. I see." She sighed. "I guess your heart was in the right place. As usual. But still, he may need help, but you realize he's dangerous, too, right?"

"Not to us."

Kotori frowned. "Honoka, Umi's right. Ranma's father sounds like a dangerous man. I'm not sure we should get mixed up in this."

Honoka frowned. "Maybe, but we can't leave this alone either."

"Then _call the police._" Umi leaned in close. "This is the sort of thing they're there for."

"But we can't prove any of this. If Mister Saotome's been getting away with it for ten years he's got to be covering up the evidence." Honoka pointed out. "And I admit half of it's just me guessing."

The three girls sighed. "Well, there must be something we can do. With Ranma taking over training I have some free time on my hands," Umi finally said. "I doubt there's much, but I'll go online tomorrow and see what I can find." _And maybe if we can convince him to get help Honoka will be able to let this go before we get into real trouble._

Kotori nodded. "I'll ask my mother, too. She's the principal, so if there's anything that can be done she'll probably know about it. It's her job after all."

Honoka smiled at her two friends, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "Thanks, guys. I knew you'd know what to do!"

"No you didn't." Umi said with a smile. "Or you'd have just asked."

Honoka suddenly stood up. "We have twelve days left until our first live performance, so let's focus on that!"

* * *

><p>Ranma's bedroom was a minimalist affair, a guest room that had long since ceased to be for 'guests.' Shared with his father and mother, the ancient dresser was now filled with the later's clothing, with all his real possessions aside from a number of 'disguises' for his girlform that he could abandon in the closet were kept in a large rucksack.<p>

Ranma himself was laid out on top of the futon, the room a bit warm, as the sun was just peeking into the room. This was when a large man, especially around the middle, grabbed him. The older man wore a gi that, while once a pristine white, had long since become a dingy gray from long wear on the road.

This was Saotome Genma.

That the fact that he had just tossed his son into the Tendo Dojo's koi pond was not the worst thing you need to know about him says entirely too much about the Saotome family in general, and Genma in particular.

"I won't have you running around dishonoring your fiance with other women, Ranma!" he shouted. "And you won't get out of your obligations either!"

Ranma's head poked out of the water. "I don't got time for this this mornin'. I gotta head over to Kanda again."

"I forbid it!" Genma snorted at him. "You are nowhere _near_ ready to teach the Art. Quit trying to get out of this!"

Ranma snorted in disgust. "It ain't the Art, and last I checked you'd already admitted that I'm better than you, so what does that say 'bout _you_ bein' ready to teach?"

"They're completely different things, boy! I'll give you your mastery test when I think you're good and ready, and not before!"

Ranma stepped out of the pond, walking slowly towards her father. "Oh, really? And just when is _that_ going to be, huh?"

Genma smirked. "Not until you've shown you can uphold your responsibilities at the least. Why, eager to get started?"

"If it gets you off my back, sure, why not?"

Genma barked a triumphant laugh. "I'll schedule the priest for this afterno-" he was abruptly cut off when Ranma tripped him, then tossed him into the pond she had just left. "Grwofrof!" he finished. Which might have seemed odd, but he had just turned into a giant panda.

"Shoulda seen that comin'. We can spar before bed tonight, Pops!" Ranma said as she walked towards the baths.

* * *

><p>Kotori sat at the table, shoveling some scrambled eggs into her mouth as part of an early breakfast, as they all were these days. What did surprise her was her mother sitting across from her suddenly. "Mom?"<p>

"Dear, is there something on your mind?" she asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Kotori quickly swallowed her own tea. It was now or never. "Mom. . . if I met someone, she's our age. . . if I thought there was. . . something wrong at home, would there be anything we could do?"

"Is this about that Ranma girl?" Kotori squeaked in surprise at that razor-sharp question. "My dear, you're both my daughter and one of my students. _I know everything." _Another yelp, but then she decided to stop teasing her poor daughter. "Unfortunately, there isn't a lot I can do. I can ask her own headmaster to look into things. Do you know what school she goes to?"

"Ah...I think it was Furinkan High?" Kotori said, not quite sure of her memory. But she knew she'd gotten it right when her mother turned pale and very serious.

"Furinkan. I'm afraid I only know it by reputation, but it's a very poor one. They'll take almost any student, and the discipline issues are legendary. If Ranma attends that school, I fear she has very few prospects indeed." The principal looked at her daughter very seriously. "And it also means there is nothing we can do. The school won't intervene in Ranma's life."

Kotori gulped, searching her mind for ideas. ". . . maybe she could come to Otonoki?"

Her mother looked completely surprised by that idea. "Well, I suppose as things are I might be able to persuade the Board. There's a fairly substantial scholarship budget that's basically untouched." Kotori brightened. "But there are still obstacles."

"What?"

"First, the parents." Mrs. Minami took another sip of her coffee. "Either her parents would need to agree, and the way you're looking at me I doubt that, the authorities would need to take her away from her parents, or I would need something to persuade the board to overlook the lack of permission quietly."

"And is that it?"

Kotori got a serious stare in response. "You're also going to have to tell me who that boy was. I won't have casual violations of the rules, daughter."

Another nervous gulp. "Uhh...Mom, can I tell you after school? It's not that I don't think you should know, really, but you are _not _going to believe me so I'm going to need a video."

* * *

><p>Ranma had not just taken almost two entire afternoons off, but was now skipping his morning spar (or technically rescheduling it) with his father to make it to a distant ward early as well.<p>

If Akane were driving, this wouldn't be allowed to stand. One heated discussion and this 'Honoka' girl would be forgotten like yesterday's news.

Nabiki, on the other hand, smelled profit.

She wasn't quite sure yet how. Oh, sure, she had a _long_ stretch of successful schemes getting money from Ranma's various bouts of misbehavior, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Snapping lewd photographs of Ranma for Tatewaki Kuno's amusement before posting them online (with the face carefully censored or edited to avoid charges), betting pools on the various bouts, extortion from the fiances...really, it was all a matter of creativity and seeing the possibilities.

Ranma may have learned the basics of a net connection in a year, but Nabiki was a master. A given name, a ward, and the knowledge that it wasn't martial arts related (but obviously physical) and she had it in about an hour.

Otonokizaka's School Idol unit. Mu's. And the obvious lead was Kousaka Honoka. A little more research identified the nearby shrine the photos of them in their workout clothes was obviously taken at. So Nabiki caught an early train, before the crowds.

It wasn't as if Furinkan bothered with attendance anymore. She wasn't in Miss Hinako's homeroom so no one would even care.

Nabiki arrived at the side entrance to the shrine only shortly before Ranma had greeted Umi at the end of her morning jog - being in the best shape, she was naturally the first to arrive. Nabiki moved up to be within listening range with her trusty camera phone, making sure to clip on the analog focusing lenses to get a good video from this distance. She also discreetly set up a directional mic on the ground pointed at the only place open enough for a workout, and settled in to wait as the dark haired idol jogged easily up the stairs, not even really out of breath.

"Hey, Ranma," Umi bit her lip. "Look, about yesterday. . . "

Ranma laughed. "Yeah, it was a good match wasn't it? I was surprised to get a half-decent fight out of you. Ya ain't even on Akane's level, but that handicap was maybe a bit more than I shoulda given up. Never really thought about that before."

There was a choke of surprise. "Wait, you're not mad I tried to get rid of you?"

"If I got mad about that I wouldn't have _nearly_ enough sparring partners," Ranma laughed it off, although he did suddenly look a little hurt.

Umi shook her head. "You know, I really don't get you."

"Eh, not a lot to get. By the way, Nabs is eavesdropping on us."

It took a moment for Umi to process that. "Wait, who? One of your fiances?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nah. One of her sisters. Tendo Nabiki. It's complicated, but she's probably lookin' for blackmail material."

Umi thought about that for a moment, then nodded, glancing around. Nabiki went pale when the girl turned and came straight towards her, starting to pack up almost immediately.

She had just gotten the microphone hidden in her book bag when Umi rounded the corner. "Excuse me, recording us isn't appreciated. It's also illegal, just so you know."

"Prove it." Nabiki smirked.

Umi chuckled. "Oh, I can. You see, a friend of ours works at this shrine as one of the maidens. Did you remember to check for the security cameras? Trust me, you were there long enough to have shown up."

"Well, you didn't actually tell me 'no' before now, so I haven't done anything wrong," Nabiki tried to dodge.

Fortunately for her, Umi wasn't that aware of the law. "Well, you _have_ been informed. Do not spy on any member of Mu's or we _will_ be talking to the authorities. Whether that's before or after I tie you up depends on how annoyed I am."

Nabiki considered that for a moment. On the one hand, that 'martial artist's duty' stuff usually protected her. . . but on the other, Umi seemed like a more modern girl and she wasn't actually threatening harm. Although she could spin it that way later. "Have it your way, Sonoda."

She was gone by the time Honoka and Kotori had ascended the shrine's steps, panting and gasping for breath.

* * *

><p>Honoka groaned, leaning heavily on the railing in the stairwell leading up to their rooftop practice after school. "I don't feel so good."<p>

"It's kind of your own fault." Umi groaned out as well, but then added "...is what I really want to say, but there's no way you could have known about this. I don't know if we can handle two mo..re..weeks…" she trailed off as the tableau on the rooftop came fully into view. It wasn't much, except for one simple problem.

The heavy gymnastics mats, she could understand. Ranma was ludicrously strong, even as a girl, so if she'd gotten there before school ended (and this was a possibility) she might have had time to drag them all up. Might.

But the balance beam was just too long to have fit through the stairs. To manage _that_ she'd have had to have lifted it straight up. "_Ranma?! _How? _Why?_"

"...isn't it obvious? Ya could use some balance training and I didn't think you were ready to walk on the fence. 'specially not four floors up, I could probably catch ya but I didn't think you'd go for it." Ranma seemed puzzled at the boggling.

Kotori tilted her head. "Uhm...where did you get that?"

"It was in the gym storeroom. No one seemed ta be using it." Ranma just seemed to be puzzled, but then noticed the three girls were collapsed in a pile. "Uhh...ya know what, I got an idea. We did enough this mornin', let's take it light today. Just do warmups, then run through the performance twice ta keep it in your heads. After that, field trip."

"Field...trip?" Honoka managed to raise an eyebrow even through the pain.

Ranma chuckled. "Yeah. Doc I know who sees a lotta martial artists. I bet he can fix ya up and figure out what we're missing besides you just not being in shape. He's the one who fixed up your ankle the other day, in fact."

Kotori took a heavy pull of water. "Uhm, before we head out, Mom wants to see you."

* * *

><p>Ranma never liked being called before the principal, headmaster, dean, or whatever the idiot in charge of the school was called. Although this office was a bit nicer than most, with a full tea service set out for her along with a few small sweets. Kotori, Honoka, and Umi were all standing at the back in silent support. "Miss Saotome."<p>

"Teach," Ranma's reply was her best attempt at formal - not very good, but she did add a small bow. "Kotori said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. The incident yesterday was a little much to just ignore, but I can overlook it if you can tell me who that boy was who instigated it. Kotori just said I wouldn't believe her, but I think you know who he is."

"..aheh." Ranma chuckled nervously...until the kettle's contents were upended over his head. "OW! It don't need ta be THAT hot!"

Honoka just grinned at him. "You were going to try to lie, weren't you?"

Mrs. Minami had found herself collapsed into her chair in shock. "Wh..how…"

"...wouldn't you?" Ranma asked Honoka dryly, gesturing to the woman. Who seemed to be going into shock.

Honoka tilted her head. "Hmm...I think so, now that I see this."

"...so Miss Saotome was the boy the whole time," The principal finally recovered. "Erm...which is she?"

"I'm a GUY dammit!"

"Both!" Honoka shouted at the same time, causing the pair to look at each other. "Well, you said there's no cure, so you're both!"

"Uhh…"

The Principal shook her head. "Since it gives me a way to overlook this whole thing and it seems to be important to my daughter, I'll be taking Honoka's side on this issue. While you're at my school, young lady, you will remain a girl. Is that clear?"

"Well, it ain't _completely_ up ta me," Ranma said slowly. "But I'll carry some water so I can change back quick, that all right?"

"That is...acceptable."

* * *

><p>Maki stepped off the train, sniffing, behind the other four girls. "This is supposed to be about your dancing right. So the question I have is, why do <em>I<em> have to come along?"

Honoka grinned. "Well, I thought you could stand a break. Why do you have to spend _every_ afternoon alone in the music room?"

Maki just sniffed again. "Because I like to," Ranma chuckled at that. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Nothing." Ranma chuckled some more. "Just three days ago if you'd told me I'd be givin' up my spare time to do somethin' like this I'd have laughed in your face. Probably best ta not fight it." She paused. "Okay, look, the Doc couldn't get away from his office and he's doin' us a favor anyway since he doesn't have anyone to look at today. I didn't want ta bring you to Nerima, so stick close. And if I tell ya to run, don't argue. Things don't usually get that bad, but this can be a dangerous part of town."

Everybody nodded at that sudden declaration. They spent the next few minutes leaving the train station in silence.

Honoka grinned. "Well, it's nice to get closer to five members. Maybe you can perform for the concert!"

Umi groaned. "We absolutely don't have time to add a fourth member _now_, I'd have to rework the whole routine!"

"Actually," Maki glanced to Honoka, who nodded her encouragement. "If you can track down a keyboard and an amp, I could do the background live if you wanted to try it."

Umi thought about that for a second. "It might help."

Honoka nodded. "If that's what you want to do."

"Wh-what do you mean?!" Maki blushed profusely. "It's not like I wanted to be an idol or something, you just needed my help!"

Unfortunately, at that point Ranma had gotten so distracted by the conversation and looking out for incoming threats that she had forgotten to check the route. So she was surprised to hear a voice call out from a nearby shop. "Ranchan."

"Oh, great. Ukyo, I ain't in the mood and I gotta get to Toufu's clinic," The pig-tailed martial artist turned to the girl who had just stepped out of the Okonomiyaki joint that had, up until a moment ago, seemed unremarkable.

She was taller than Honoka, but only by a small amount. Her long brown hair was swept back with a white ribbon, and she was wearing, oddly enough, only an _extremely_ short yukata in a navy blue color, trimmed in pale pink. Her modesty was preserved by a pair of black leggings. Her most unusual accessory, though, was a long bandoleer, currently empty, but holding a halberd shaped like a giant spatula across her back. "Oh no Ranma, honey, you don't get to waltz down the street with four girls and not explain yourself!"

This was Ukyo Kuonji.

Honoka rolled her eyes. "Fiance?"

"Uh...yeah." Ranma turned to Ukyo, but the unfolding chaos was temporarily halted in its' tracks by a shout of dismay.

Everyone turned, to see Maki pointing straight at Ukyo. "Y-y-you can't do that! She's a girl!"

Ukyo facepalmed. "You didn't tell them, jackass?"

"Well, I told most of'em. It just kinda. . . slipped my mind. Sorry Maki." Ranma had the good grace to look sheepish.

"Tell me _what_? That you're already engaged!?"

Ukyo blinked, surprised. "Wait, what the heck's going on here?"

"How can two girls be engaged?" Maki screeched. "My life was just _fine_ three days ago! Three days ago people did not jump improbably high distances, boys did not suddenly appear in my school with apparent intent to sexually assault, disputes over school rules were not settled with martial arts matches, and the weirdest thing I had to deal with was a second-year fangirl!"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Ukyo, better get the hot water."

Maki continued to rant while the idols tried, in vain, to shush her and keep her from making more of a scene until Ukyo reappeared with the kettle, pouring it over Ranma's head and restoring him to his natural form.

It took Maki another thirty seconds to notice. "Wai..the boy fro..that wa.."

Umi reflected that it was a good thing she worked out. Maki was heavier than she seemed.

"Ranchan, _why_ didn't you tell that girl about the curse?"

Ranma looked down at his feet. "Well, three days ago I didn't think I'd see her again, and then it just didn't seem important until it didn't come up. Anyway, that's Maki, the girl holdin' her up is Umi, and these are Honoka and Kotori." Ranma paused. "Look, why don't ya hand her to me, we're losin' enough time as it is. Ucchan, you want an explanation have Konatsu look after the shop."

Ukyo frowned for a moment, then nodded. "I've got a couple of hours before the dinner rush and the prep's all done." She called back to the shop to the pretty girl dressed similarly to herself. "Konatsu, watch the store for a couple of hours?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Okay, we're ready to go," Ukyo jumped ahead of the group to casually walk backwards, which is probably a lot safer when you're carrying around a weapon that large. "Okay, so, who are they _really_?"

Honoka shook her head. "Well, Ranma already told you our names, but I'm Kousaku Honoka. These are Sonoda Umi and Minami Kotori, and that's Nishikino Maki. And we're Otonokizaka's School Idol group, Mu's!"

"And just how did Ranchan get mixed up with you guys?" Ukyo did not seem impressed.

"Oh, he just dropped in," Honoka grinned.

"And you're _sure_ you're not more fiances?"

Honoka actually giggled at that. "Nope. My parents never bought a kid,"

Ranma shook his head. "Is it really so weird that I'd be friends with someone without havin' to marry'em?"

"YES!" Ukyo shouted at him, starting to get angry. "Ranchan, you're _my_ fiance!"

Umi was the one rolling her eyes now. "That's up for debate, but it's not our business. I guess Ranma's been in a school idol group before, and since Honoka doesn't know when to quit and I kinda screwed up the training regimen he's helping us out until our first live performance."

"Umi!" Honoka whined at her old friend.

...who was completely unsympathetic. "It's true. Without Ranma you'd be laid up in bed through orientation and you know it."

"Well, she'd probably be fine by the day of the performance," Ranma interjected, deciding not to point out that he had kind of been responsible for the injury in the first place.

Ukyo took the time to think about this. "Look, sugar, I guess as long as it's just a couple of weeks I can live with it. Maybe we all need a break after that fiasco with the wedding. Just be sure it's worth it."

* * *

><p>Kotori sat on the medical bed, while the tall man with the glasses carefully looked her over. He gave her a nod. "Well, Miss Minami, you certainly seem to be perfectly healthy. You don't have much of a ki reserve, though, so I can't clear you for any 'special training' Ranma might come up with.<p>

Kotori giggled at him. "I don't think that will be a problem, Doctor Toufu. We're dancers, not martial artists."

"Then you're quite brave to come out to my office," Toufu chuckled. "Now, up you get. Just let me make some adjustments, here. . . can I have your email?" Email addresses were quickly swapped, and Toufu sent something with his tablet. "Now, we don't have a long time, ideally we'd have started this a month or even two ago, but if you ask your parents to prepare meals according to this plan you'll be in the best possible shape for your concert. Now, if you could send in the next...patient."

"I really am sorry to bother you," The blonde said as she stood up and bowed.

Toufu just laughed. "Oh, it's no bother. Really, it's a nice change of pace to work on patients who aren't suffering from injuries or the aches of old age. Not that I mind them, of course."

"...does that happen often?"

Toufu frowned, looking troubled. "More than I'd like, but the degree of injury is such that it's hard to get the authorities to believe me. I've also suspected for awhile that there's someone exerting influence to make sure any reports are lost."

Kotori frowned briefly. "Well, thank you again, Doctor."

"Please, send in my next patient."

Kotori returned his smile, and then stepped out into the hallway. "It looks like I'm all right. Honoka, I think you were next."

Maki was frowning at the list on her own phone. "I'd gain weight eating this."

"Well, not if yer workin' out," Ranma pointed out. "It's up ta you,"

Kotori glanced at Umi. "Ranma, are any of your fiances. . . uhm, how do I ask this?"

Umi glanced at the office. "Is this about last night?"

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "What about last night?"

"Nothing!" Kotori coughed. "I guess. . . are any of your parents, well, important people?"

Ranma blinked, obviously genuinely startled by the question. "Well, there's the Kunos, I guess. They got a _lot_ of money, that count?" With a nod, he frowned and thought further. "Mister Tendo is on the city council too."

Umi and Kotori exchanged a meaningful glance. "Thanks, Ranma, that helps."

"Uhh...anytime?"

There came a shriek from the examination room. Umi put a hand to her forehead. "Guess Honoka just got her diet."

* * *

><p>The inside of 'Ucchan's' was a pretty normal setup, a bar around the hibachi-style grills for making the Okonomiyaki, with several tables and booths. It was all finished in polished wood. Honoka reflected that it actually looked kind of fancy as she stepped up to the bar. Luckily it was still a bit before the real dinner rush would start. She consulted her phone and sighed, taking her seat. "I'll have a pork with all the veggies," she said to the waitress standing behind the counter.<p>

Konatsu, as she had been called by Ukyo, bowed. "Of course, miss. Please wait a moment."

It took almost forty minutes, during which she patiently played a few games on her phone, but eventually the plate was planted in front of her. "Here ya go." Ukyo said with a bright smile, moving on as quickly as possible until Honoka reached over the grill to grab her wrist.

"Wait. I think we got off on the wrong foot."

Ukyo stopped. Of course, she could break the girl's grip without a moment's effort, but something in her voice stopped her. "All right, sugar. As long as you understand that Ranma-honey's mine."

Honoka shook her head. "I have _no_ idea why that's your first thought."

Ukyo stopped, completely surprised. "That would make you the first," She took in Honoka's completely puzzled stare. "Wow, you really don't get it, do you? Listen, sugar, Ranma's not a boy you want to get mixed up with."

She was about to clarify why, when Honoka interrupted. "That's what everyone keeps telling me."

"Well, it's true." Ukyo grinned, sliding her an extra soda. "On top of me. There's Akane, the violent maniac. She'll pound Ranma for just about any reason. But the other girl you really have to watch out for is Shampoo."

"I need to watch out for soap?"

"...no." Ukyo groaned. "Shampoo is a girl from way out in China. She's from a tribe of absolute savages and has the craziest laws. If you beat her in a fight, she'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and kill you. And her stalker, Mousse, is even worse. He's blind as a bat so even if he cared about innocent bystanders he might stab you with those chains by accident."

"And then there's Ryouga, who wants to kill Ranma-honey over a bread feud of some kind. I don't know all the details there." Honoka's eyes were wide as saucers by now.

"And that's not counting all the weirdos just passing through. Half of them want to kill Ranma, maybe a quarter want Akane, and the rest want to marry Ranma's girl side. Really, you're the first one who's even tried to convince anyone you're not any of them in months."

Honoka gulped. "And what was that about a wedding?"

Ukyo gulped. "Something Ranma and Akane's fathers cooked up. Ranma took my dowry, but his father seems to want to have him marry Akane for some reason I don't really get. They don't even like each other, so it all went pear shaped when everyone heard about it." Ukyo gave her a speculative look. "Ranma didn't mention any of this?"

Honoka's head shook. "Not really. He kind of glossed over a lot of it, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it, and I can guess why. It must be rough."

Ukyo briefly looked troubled. "I guess...anyway, the dinner rush is starting. Enjoy your okonomiyaki." She flipped the pancake to Honoka's plate with a practiced gesture and moved on to other customers.

* * *

><p>The next afternoon, on the roof, Maki continued to boggle at the transformation. "So, hot and cold water?" She leaned against the bars at the edges of the rooftop. "Sorry about before, but Honoka's right and you should really have thought ahead and just 'gone girl' the whole way."<p>

Ranma, meanwhile, was busy doing her own stretches, which largely seemed to consist of slowly doing a splits in the middle of the rooftop. "Yeah, in hindsight that was kinda dumb. Sorry I scared ya."

"It's fine, it's fine." Maki considered for a moment, then started running through a stretching routine of her own. "Are you planning to stick around after the concert?"

"I'm not sure." Ranma admitted. "I have ta say that Kanda's a nice place to hang out after school. And I guess it ain't like I was doin' much. Get home and do my spar instead of just when I wake up when Pops decides to ambush me."

"...your father attacks you in the mornings?" Maki reflected that she was getting used to these casual declarations of mayhem far too quickly.

Ranma shrugged. "Actually don't mind that bit too much, decent awareness training."

"You have one _weird_ life," Maki finally settled on. "Thanks for the sheet music, by the way. It was interesting. Who wrote it? I don't recognize the name."

"Ah, yeah, Kasumi's Akane's older sister," Ranma shrugged. "I think she wrote 'bout half the songs we did."

Maki nodded. "I noticed you never put any videos on the web site."

"Web site?"

"Love Live," Maki explained. "It's a central social networking site for school idol groups. You can post songs, videos, leave messages for fans. It's basically how the whole thing really took off, I think. It gives you all the tools you need to be like a real idol group, although one of the rules is that you can't make any money."

"Oh, rules. Guessin' ya have ta be a student, right?" Ranma nodded to herself, more than to Maki. "That explains it. Kasumi don't go to Furinkan, neither does Shampoo, so we did it for fun. We did do some recordings, on the school's old video equipment, couple'a live concerts, but we didn't get fancy or nothing."

"Ah. I see." Maki finished up her stretching out. "Anyway, shouldn't the others be here by now?"

"Yeah, they should be. . . "

* * *

><p>Eri managed to restrain herself long enough to get back to the student council's office on the first floor. When they got there, she made sure the doors were shut and locked, then pulled down the blinds before turning slowly around.<p>

The vice president didn't need to be able to predict the future to see where this was going. "Nozomi. Would you _please _stop that?" Eri said, sounding genuinely hurt. "I'm trying to help the school."

"So are they, Erichi," Nozomi said calmly.

Eri paced back and forth. "I don't have any problems with their sincerity, you know. I really do think they want to save the school. It's their _methods_ and you know it! And this. . . this _Ranma_. Where they heck did they dig her up anyway?"

"Actually, she fell from the sky. Like an angel from Heaven, believe it or not," The dark-haired girl said with a rather serene smile.

Eri glanced at her sidelong. "Wasn't Satan also an angel fallen from Heaven?"

"Technically, I suppose," Nozomi shuffled her tarot cards. "Would you like me to do a reading?"

Eri sighed. "This isn't the time for that. Do you have any idea why the principal isn't putting a stop to this mess? She has to be aware of it."

Nozomi shook her head at her friend's stubbornness. "I know she forbade you from doing anything directly, but they're _not_. Not really. Besides, the five of them seem to be having fun with it, and that's the important thing."

"It's not _supposed_ to be fun!"

Nozomi smiled. "Are we still talking about saving the school?"

"O-of course we are!"

Nozomi pulled up one of the blinds. "I wonder…"

Eri was about to respond when Nozomi stopped immediately after opening a window. "Nozomi? What's wrong?"

"Shh...I think I hear something." There was another pause as she put her ear down to the gap in the window to listen "What the heck? There's screaming, and . . . well, it's not the boy."

"What are they saying?"

Nozomi's nose scrunched in confusion. "'What a haul?'"

"Huh?"

* * *

><p>The sight would have been familiar to residents of Nerima, but in the Kanda ward no one had seen it before. At the head of the crowd was what could only be described as a wizened old man. His head bald save tiny tufts of white hair along the sides, atop a body that seemed entirely too small for it and shrunken a bit further from age. Despite his obviously advanced years, he held a huge bundle over one shoulder, and was moving ahead of a crowd of Otonikizaka students.<p>

This was Happousai.

And at the head of the crowd chasing him was Honoka. "GET BACK HERE YOU PERVERT!"

So it would seem that _some_ things were the same regardless of which part of Tokyo you were in.

"What a haul! WHAT A HAUL!" Happousai cried out in sheer joy, even as a silky undergarment flew free from his bundle, floating through the air.

The crowd was just enraged further.

Umi caught up, having retrieved a bow and quiver of arrows from the school's archery range. "I'm _sure_ he's involved somehow!"

"Yeah, probably!" Honoka managed, anger giving her a stamina that would have been unthinkable before Mu's. "How's your aim?"

"I think I can hit him. No telling how much damage it'll do with a target tip!" Umi shouted, pulling out an arrow and nocking it. "I'll have to stand still to line up the shot, though."

Honoka considered that for a moment. "Maybe you shouldn't!"

"He stole everyone's . . . I am not going to say it out on the street!"

Kotori finally managed to catch up. "Just make him give them baaaack!"

Finally, a certain pigtailed martial artist caught up to the crowd as well. "Dammit! Shoulda known the old freak would turn up sooner or later!"

Umi glared at her. "So you do know him!"

"Yeah, he's the grandmaster of my school!" Ranma was frowning at the bow. "Maybe you'd better let me handle this. I don't really wanna _kill_ him."

"I do." Umi countered.

Ranma sighed. "I don't know for sure, but I think he needs ta do stuff like this to live. But if it'll make ya happy, go ahead and take your shot. before we get outta the residential area!"

"With pleasure!" Umi planted her feet and pulled the arrow back. She only took a moment to take aim with a deep breath before letting fly. The shaft flew true, until at the last second Happousai seemed to sense the danger and bounded up higher, landing on top of a nearby building.

Ranma did the only thing she could and vaulted up after him.

What must be understood is that, to most people, Tokyo is a twisting maze of thoroughfares and side-alleys, broken up only by the few businesses one might frequent. This came from its' origins as a feudal city - the streets designed to confuse attackers and carried forward to the modern day. But to those who could travel the rooftops, it instead became a series of islands separated only by narrow rivers, an open field of travel and combat.

Having taken to these rooftops, Happousai was making a beeline for one of the few havens of possible safety close by, the high towers of Akihabara's Electric Town district. Ranma growled, expecting a trap, but followed.

The old Master leaped down into the streets, dodging around the cars and crowds. Ranma was forced to follow or lose track of him, weaving through the crowds of tourists and shoppers. Then Ranma noticed several of the workers at the district's maid cafes hanging out in front of their restaurant. "Clear! Get outta the wa-"

He was cut off when something he expected to happen, didn't. Normally, the freak wouldn't be able to resist flipping up the girl's skirts. But instead he ran on by. "...what?" Ranma nearly stopped chasing him - something was up.

It turned out to be Happousai, who found a space between two tall buildings and began rebounding off of them in an effort to get away, slowly ascending with each jump. _Well, two can play that game,_ Ranma thought, starting to make the same leaps.

However, when she got to the rooftop things were not quite as she expected. Happousai wasn't making the leap to the next roof, but instead had assumed a casual sitting position with his bundle next to him. He had also pulled out his pipe and was attempting to light it despite the high winds. "Ranma m'boy," he said, sounding serious, so Ranma elected to warily approach half-way across the rooftop.

"Old letch, don't tell me you want to talk."

Said letch shrugged. "I think it's about time, don't you. I'm not getting any younger, and this isn't as much fun as it used to be."

"Yeah, right."

Happousai chuckled. "Well, I guess I can't blame you for not believing me, so here's the deal. You think you're ready to be a Master? Don't bother denying it, even if you don't think so. You wouldn't be teaching these girls if you didn't think you could."

"Of course I'm good enough." Ranma barked out a laugh. "I can give you a run for your money."

"Don't flatter yourself, sonny," the old master said as his pipe finally lit. "You've got a long way to go before you can beat me in a fair match and you know it. . . but you don't need to be that good."

"What's it to you, anyway? Pops won't make me a Master 'til I marry Akane."

Happousai grinned. "Well, it's too bad he doesn't get a say in the matter. First time we met, I made you _my_ student, and that means you get to be a master on my say so, not your father's."

Ranma just turned around. "I don't care about that. Just leave this part of Tokyo alone. It ain't like Nerima and I don't got time ta chase ya all over the _whole_ city."

"Oh, really. Do you think you can stop me?" Happousai cackled at the implied challenge. "Sounds like fun."

"I can try." Ranma's voice carried a hint of finality to it.

Happousai took pause at that. "This new attitude wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Phoenix Mountain, would it?"

"What's it to you?"

The master took another moment to think about this new bit of information. "Ranma, m'boy, killing a man changes you. Never mind that Saffron got up afterwards. You killed him, and by every account you meant to do it. This isn't behavior becoming of a martial artist."

Another snort. "Like you care anything about that."

"Sit _down!_" Happousai's voice carried a sense of authority that would not be denied, and Ranma found himself kneeling in a way he never had before. It took a lot for the old man to put aside his letchery, but it seemed he was serious for the first time in a long time. "I know I'm not the best behaved old man, but I _do_ care. Think about it, m'boy. I could do a _lot_ worse for my simple pleasures than I do. I hold myself back, and no one gets hurt. Not really. That is one of the things you still need to learn."

"All right, fine. So what is it you want me to do?"

Happousai grinned in a way that set Ranma's teeth on edge. "Oh, you're already doing it. Normally there's all these ceremonies to test your skills and patience, but really. I named my style 'Anything Goes' for a reason. What is the first principle of our school?"

"Evaluate, Adapt, Overcome, and Steal," The answer came almost automatically.

Happi cackled in triumph. "Exactly. There's no point in testing your skill in the Art - even if you're not as good as your father, and I understand that's not the case, you're so good that any evaluation of your skill at the Art is meaningless. So, let's apply the principle. The tools at hand won't work, so I'll adapt.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," the master continued. "And we'll see if you can learn to teach the Art by teaching 'your' girls."

"Huh? I can't say I get it." Ranma found herself scratching her head. "But one condition. Hands offa them. I can't work if you're gonna be doin' this every day."

The Master laughed. "Oh, agreed...but there is one other thing." A folder flew into Ranma's hands. "What's the point in teaching if there's no goal? If your girls do well enough in _that_, I will award you your Mastery, _and_ the right to found your own school."

"And what do you get out of this?" Ranma asked.

Happousai laughed his most lecherous laugh. "Why, I get the chance to see and maybe even touch my lovely student in one of those miniskirts!"

"Why you…" Ranma went to tackle the old letch, and found her limbs tangled in his pipe, and being sent flying off into the horizon with a scream.

* * *

><p>Honoka's bedroom. Ranma sighed as he climbed in through the window, having found hot water somewhere along the way.<p>

Honoka grinned at him good-naturedly. "I thought the first time a boy climbed in that way would be more romantic," she said quietly, still wearing her workout clothes. "Did you get them back?"

"Afraid not," Ranma said, troubled. "Honoka. . . I . . . " Finally, he just presented the folder Happousai had handed him earlier in the evening.

The ginger girl took it and read it. "Love Live Music Festival. . . Ranma, this is it!" she whispered in hushed, excited tones. "If we can enter this, we'll be _sure_ to attract enough attention to keep the school open!"

Ranma's jaw dropped. "I...hey, you're right. I guess that makes this easier to ask."

"Huh?"

"The old man…" Ranma's shoulder sagged. "He said if you girls win the festival's competition, he'd give me my Mastery certification. I can't say I get what he's playin' at, and it's probably no good, but…"

Honoka sagged a bit at that thought. No matter what, it meant pulling everyone further into the chaos that was Ranma's life - even if they told him to go away, this would still be on and no doubt more trouble would find them. "We'll talk it over with the others. After the live show. Let's make sure we can put something together and pull it off before we set our sights _this_ high."

"Gotcha. It's late, but I thought I'd let you know." Ranma glanced out the window. "Seeya tomorrow, then?"

"Always."


End file.
